Each Regional Economic Update consists of two parts: an economic outlook, comprising two chapters, and country pages. In Part I, the first chapter describes the outlook for GDP growth, and then goes beyond GDP in a few important areas. The second chapter is more analytical and focuses on a special topic, which is highly relevant to the region. Part II of the Economic Update contains 26 two-page Macro Poverty Outlook reports for countries in the ECA region.
OCTOBER 2023 | Economic growth for the emerging market and developing economies across Europe and Central Asia has been revised up to 2.4% for 2023. This pickup in growth reflects improved forecasts for Ukraine, Central Asia, Türkiye, and Russia. However, overlapping shocks present formidable challenges to the region’s growth.
APRIL 2023 | Economic growth slowed sharply last year in Europe and Central Asia, as Russia's invasion of Ukraine, a surge in inflation, and the sharp tightening of monetary policy and financing conditions hit private consumption, investment, and trade.
OCTOBER 2022 | Globalization, demographic trends, the green transition, and technological innovations are transforming labor markets in Europe and Central Asia, altering their institutional and contractual arrangements, and creating disparities and vulnerabilities in the labor force.
OCTOBER 2022 | This companion piece to the Fall 2022 ECA Economic Update provides an overview of the policy options available to countries to respond to the energy price shock and examines how this crisis could harness the clean energy transition to enhance collective energy security.
APRIL 2022 | The Russian Federation’s war with Ukraine has triggered a catastrophic humanitarian crisis and threatened the stability of geopolitical relations.
OCTOBER 2021 | Although global economic activity is recovering and output in Europe and Central Asia (ECA) is expected to grow in 2021, containing COVID-19 remains a challenge in the region.
MARCH 2021 | Part one of this report summarizes recent economic developments and presents the outlook for the Europe and Central Asia region. Part two focuses on the topics of data, digitalization, and governance, and provides policy recommendations for harnessing the data revolution to improve governance across the region.
OCTOBER 2020 | This update summarizes recent developments and presents the outlook for the region. The report also focuses on human capital, an area that requires serious attention given the severe impact of the pandemic on health and education.
APRIL 2020 | Policy measures that prioritize investments in health care systems and provide safety nets for people, especially the most vulnerable, are critical to mitigating the impacts of COVID-19.
OCTOBER 2019 | For countries in Europe and Central Asia, policies on labor mobility can help mitigate demographic trends and support economic growth and poverty reduction.
APRIL 2019 | Inclusive financial sector development can play an important role in contributing to growth and reducing poverty by promoting people’s investment in their health, education, and businesses.
MAY 2018 |With growth in the region likely at its peak, this report addresses two major questions: How well is the region prepared for an expected slowdown? And how well has the economic upswing been used to adjust to the digital revolution?
OCTOBER 2017 |The report found that economic growth in the region was stronger than previously expected. At the same time, the region faces both opportunities and challenges with regard to new technologies, more flexible labor contracts, and migration.
NOVEMBER 2016 |While the Brexit vote and the refugee crisis are testing the European Union’s internal cohesion, continued vulnerabilities in European banking sectors are curbing the economic recovery.
APRIL 2016 |The report focused attention on the impact of China’s GDP slowdown and economic transformation, which opens up both challenges and long-term opportunities for economies of Europe and Central Asia.
OCTOBER 2015 |Against the backdrop of a weakening global economy and volatility in international financial markets, countries of the Europe and Central Asia are transitioning to a new normal.
OFFICE OF THE CHIEF ECONOMIST
The Office of the Chief Economist provides guidance on strategic priorities and technical quality of economic analysis in the Europe and Central Asia (ECA) region.
You have clicked on a link to a page that is not part of the beta version of the new worldbank.org. Before you leave, we’d love to get your feedback on your experience while you were here. Will you take two minutes to complete a brief survey that will help us to improve our website?
Feedback Survey
Thank you for agreeing to provide feedback on the new version of worldbank.org; your response will help us to improve our website.
Thank you for participating in this survey! Your feedback is very helpful to us as we work to improve the site functionality on worldbank.org.
